


Smile

by Kyzy



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Other, Parental fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24764503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyzy/pseuds/Kyzy
Summary: The first person on Akali's mind is Shen.The first person on Shen's mind is Akali.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Smile

**Author's Note:**

> a little shen / akali parental fluff oneshot, as a treat  
> akali is such a loud and turbulent child i love her  
> i also love dadly shen being dadly  
> its a good contrast to zed constantly being ???? and kayn being ???? in return  
> hope ya like!

Shen was sitting alone, as usual, surrounded by ‘singing rocks’ that chimed in different notes whenever they were struck hard enough. It was meditation time and Akali _knew_ that, but this was a man that could meditate for hours on end… and that was boring.

Her father had been lost in the Shadow Orders attacks, her mother had a new student who she favored beyond her own daughter, and the remnants of the Kinkou were spread thinly about the vale as they remained in a constant state of high alert. At the age of eleven, Akali was adept at simply working full throttle through her studies just so she was allowed to wander, and if Kennen was working, well, then the young girl would have almost absolute freedom. In these moments of aloneness she would often find herself in the company of Shen, another who was so ever alone these days. He had been… sad for a while. While the emotion was waning away from him every day she could see it in his eyes, a sort of hollowness that was the space left behind when the Order took so much from them all years ago.

She barely remembered Zed save for his white hair and knew, when she had the tools to do so, she would kill him for what he had done.

Such were the thoughts of an prestigious student who assumed she had the world at her fingertips, that she could do anything as long as she set her mind upon it. The anger towards the shadow ninja however was not solely on her behalf, for her young mind over the passage of time had seemingly fast forgotten the frequently absent presence of her father… but it would never forget Shen. He still lived. That man had been the one to snatch her up in the Orders overtaking, the one who had shoved her tiny frame into a tree before running back to where cries and screams were echoing out into the air. In a moment as terrible as that…

… She had been his first thought, and it was something that the child simply could _not_ forget.

In the aftermath of the horrors her master had done his best not to cry, but through the thunder clouds and downpour that crashed against the survivors, the young ninja knew he was weeping as hard as any.

Now, years later, they resided in other territories such as in camps or in strange Kinkou monasteries where she favored shadowing her master instead of interacting with new faces. The current camp was a day away from any real shelter, but the crystal formations that jutted from the cavernous valley crags had made for a hiding spot that they felt safe enough to settle down into, if just for the night. Nightfall had not yet come to bless them and she had little left to learn from the tedious spouting of their scryer-- and so the had girl simply abandoned him, set about discovering the location of her ghost-like leader. Thankfully never far from the bulk of their force, Akali was quickly putting together a plan to ambush Shen in a way that he would not hear or see her coming; maybe today he’d decide not to be so _miserable._ Stalking carefully around the rocks with her body so low she could almost touch the ground, the youth carefully controlled her breathing and turned her gaze to the highest rocks surrounding him. Perhaps climbing them from behind and baring down upon him would startle him--

“... Akali?”

The young ninja suddenly burst from the rocks with a stormy expression, cheeks puffed as she rounded the sitting man who was gazing at her with half lidded blue eyes. They were… expressionless. They so often were these days.

“How d’ya’ know I was there? I was really quiet.”

“... Hm…”

… No real answer. So mysterious in his ways was the watcher of the stars, silently regarding her with a gaze that was slowly making her small body bristle with rage. _Ugh!_ She missed the _old_ Shen who would play games with her, brush her hair, play fight with her and generally regard her as if she _existed_ but _no_ , now that he had this title and had lost loved ones suddenly he was someone completely different! They _all_ had lost loved ones, but was she moping? Akali lacked the mental age to understand how deep his loss ran or how fragmented his world and mind was, for even though she had lost and _continued_ to lose in this unfair world of theirs, to the child her favorite adult was still here. Sitting before her, still alive. Giving a short growl and knowing that she wouldn’t be able to make contact with the others face, Akali gave a short punch forward that was immediately blocked by an open hand that covered hers entirely-- this prediction of hers did _not_ stop her from beginning to caterwaul angrily.

“I am _angry!_ ” She barked out, trying to wriggle free from his hold. Shen barely raised an eyebrow.

“Why?”

“You, master Shen. _You_ make me angry! I’m tired of it! Let me go!”

Her wants were acknowledged and the little girl was released so that she could stagger backwards and glare in his general direction. Still, even with a _punch_ and the _disrespect_ that came with it… he still looked so _dull!_ The adult gave a soft sigh of sorts and raised a hand to retie his hair up, very much expecting the talkative child to be as such; he was not wrong. Akali remained as opinionated as ever.

“All you do is mope around now. You don’t do anything fun anymore, Shen.” Her hands met her hips as she spoke with confidence, “You’re always sad and I really don’t like it.”

“...” The masters eyes sunk downwards and away from her to stare at the smooth surface of the floor beneath them. That only served to feed her annoyance.

“Say something! I want the old you back. The good you.”

“Good…?” Echoed quietly, and she responded by clenching her fists at her side.

“Yeah, the good you! The one that was alive and stuff!”

Shen kept that pale gaze away; he did not want her to know that her words had perhaps stung a little. They shouldn’t have for they were simply part of an outburst from a child and he was not supposed to be feeling _anything_ , but the depression that had him gripped firmly in its claws worsened ever so slightly. Zed and his father were gone… and they took parts of his heart with them, leaving an empty shell of duty and want. How to explain this to an eleven year old… how to explain this to _anybody_ that looked upon him as a ‘weak’ or indecisive leader? How could they understand that he was but a hollow statue walking a world of people now, longing for the dead and gone, trying so desperately to be the person that everyone needed him to be…? Struggling to repress another sigh, Shen simply closed his eyes and kept himself still. Perhaps she would finish her hissing and leave… and then he could contemplate how the balance of his own world had been tipped so suddenly that he knew not how to make it stable again, as depressing as that all was.

Well, of course, she did not go.

Instead of stomping away, those little footsteps were coming _forwards_ towards him, and in mild alarm he suddenly found his crossed legs being accosted by a determined child that was trying to navigate the large breadth of his arms to sit in his lap-- and like he was picking up a cat Shen simply plucked her from him and set her down at his side carefully.

“Akali… it is meditation time,” Said with a slight seriousness, “You must stop.”

“I'm not leaving.” She huffed, beginning to try and climb over his arms again with nails against his skin. “I’m not going to obey the orders of someone who doesn’t listen to me at all.”

Shen quietly reeled suddenly with subtle embarrassment at _himself_ , simply because moments before he had wished Akali to leave-- that was cruel, wasn’t it? Had he become… cruel? Had his displeasure shown upon his face strongly enough that the girl had picked up upon it? The man’s thoughts lapsed into a heavy, nonverbial pondering... and this time he did not move her, wishing to gauge what on Runeterra she was actually up to or wished to accomplish by sitting in his lap. He was so big and she was so tiny that his bicep alone was almost the width of her entire waist, and this made actually climbing over him feasible, even when sitting. That halfly illuminated gaze watched quietly as she clambered in, wincing only slightly as she had no care for where her feet were and finding the tips of her shoes against an area that needn’t be mentioned. Akali would only settle into a sit when she was facing him, half sunken into the bowl his legs made, those little hands holding onto either side of his hips.

“... Hm?”

Shen’s expression would never grow awkward for Akali had spent her childhood almost exclusively clinging to him like a baby possum to its mother, but for the briefest of moments he was confused. Anger was one thing, lashing out another, for those were behaviors expected of the young and often explosive Akali, but this was different. Those burnt orange eyes she was glaring up at him with had a purpose to them that he didn’t quite phantom. A stare-off ensued, the two unblinkingly captured by the others eyes-- and then a move was made that would take Shen’s pitch up three levels as his hands clamped down upon her--

“Akali, _no!”_

In a blur of movement she had thrust her fingertips up the side of his shirt with a wide smirk upon her face with her plan now made clear… tickling. It was embarrassing for a man as large and as powerful as Shen _to_ be so ticklish, but it had been his absolute weakness for so long that when the girl was younger he made her promise not to ever assault him with the intent to use said weakness against him. Naturally she had said yes. Not that that mattered. Flustered, embarrassed and round eyed the eye of Twilight hoisted her up into the air and away from his ribs as he gave a hard shiver of discontent-- only to find those dangling arms at his neck!? Shen made a myriad of strange noises as Akali’s devilish laughter began to overtake his own chattering, attempting to bow his head to whatever side she was touching--

“Akali, _yes!_ ” The young ninja responded, waving her arms about wildly! “Let me go! Don’t ruin the fun!”

“Fun!?”

The adult said with alarm, knowing that if he put her down she would simply leap at him again!? Having no way to restrain Akali and simply leaving her held against his head, Shen attempted to get his breathing even from the sudden bout of snorting and snuffling he had gone through and looked up with the intent to berate the girl… but. Looking down at him was a smiling face, body limp, with that anger from long before now gone entirely from her facade; for he, looking up, was no longer a man who wore no expression. In that moment he was no longer a man struggling in sadness and silence. He… _felt_. Shen made a move to angle his neck away from her the moment a hand reappeared in his view, but this time it was simply trying to grab softly at his cheek.

The tugging was so gentle that it made him feel a little warm within with the sweetness of the action, his annoyance at the tickling fading... how could he have ever wished this away…?

Oh, right--

He was supposed to be _unfeeling,_ and she was making that _very_ hard.

“Hello, master Shen. Welcome back.” The confident child nodded, enjoying the warmth of his skin against her fingers. “For a moment there you were smiling.”

“... If I put you down are you going to do _that_ again?” The smile had disappeared, replaced with a perplexed stare.

“No. I promise.”

Shen thought dejectedly about her _last_ promise and brought the young Akali back down to him, allowing her to curl in his lap as if that was where she belonged most in the world at the moment. He had cracked! Something so stupid had caused him to fail at keeping himself devoid of emotion, but now that the stony wall had a marked cleaved into it Shen found himself struggling to keep himself completely expressionless as he tipped his chin up to stare at the blue sky ahead. Of course it would be Akali that would be his foil… and he deserved such a punishment for making her angry. Her feelings over his, _always_. That was the duty of a carer-- of a _parent_ \-- and he had so easily betrayed that by falling into a well of his own sadness. A small hand came against his chin with the intent to drag his gaze back down to her, like a small animal demanding attention, and he obeyed simply because there was no point offering any resistance now.

“I am sorry… I have been ignoring you lately, haven’t I?”

“You have.” A dutiful nod as she patted his forehead, “But I forgive you.”

… It was almost impossible to stay wallowing in his own feelings of guilt when his grinning, adopted daughter was right there. She was just too _cute_... and he was _very_ weak to cute things. Some softness had obviously slipped onto his expression, for Akali lit up in recognition of the emotion.

“Yay, that wasn’t so hard.” She mewled, her hands resting against his chest as she peered up through the fronds of her short fringe. “Now you’re the good Shen again.”

“You know… how I have to be, Akali. It is my duty.” His hand came to stroke her gently upon her head, ruffling the girls hair just as tenderly. “And I know you do not like it… but sometimes you must do what fate dictates.”

“I don’t care about fate.” She whispered back as her fingers drew a circle upon his front, “I… just wanted you to be happy again.”

“You cannot be constantly happy in life; sometimes bad things will happen against your will. You cannot smile through those times.”

“Smiling is _bad_ but being completely empty and quiet is _good_?”

Shen felt a pang of lament within him at those words, as if he was being scolded by his father once more for the lack of rigidity in his beliefs. He knew he was unable to give her an answer about that. That was balance, that was the law of the old world, a world he had been born into despite the rest of Ionia growing more and more progressive around him. Akali was beginning to resent the teachings of his father and his father in turn, and there was nothing he could do to stop that seed of anger from growing within her… because she was so often _right_.

“... I… this sadness will not last forever, my girl.”

“... But what if it does?”

“It will not, because nothing lasts forever.”

The scrunching of her hands against his shirt,

“... Not even you will be here forever… and I hate that, while you’re here with me… you are so, so _sad._ ”

For a moment the man lost his ability to speak, swallowing as a surge of emotions rushed forth within him. This poor little life in his arms was seeking his happiness… something that he could not even bring himself to do. After his losses he was slowly teaching himself that perhaps he would never feel joy again, and what a _stupid_ thought for one as educated as he, for happiness was right in front of him, wasn’t it? He had lost parts of his heart but not _all_ of it, no, a small part of it was staring down at his stomach with a wobbly lip and large eyes hazy as if tears were suddenly threatening to fall. Those earlier thoughts had proven to be true. Yes, Shen had become cruel… because he had become _selfish._

The day he had cried openly about his father’s death she had been there with him in the howling winds as they stood afar, the monastery just a speck in the distance. Though he had made no sound that towering frame of his had begun to shake with emotion, and back turned to the survivors Shen had struggled to keep himself in one piece. With the wind and the rain biting them to the bone, Akali had fled her mother to be at his side, looking up to him with those sun-kissed eyes in despair as her hand curled about his own-- her father was gone, and yet…

The first person on Akali’s mind had been _him._

If he could, in that moment, he would have been moved to tears as he was all those years ago; but the adult had to be strong for her. He had to be _there_ for her, for alongside watching the stars she _too_ was his duty… a duty he had been neglecting. Suddenly Shen tipped himself backwards to lay down on his back, an arm snaking around Akali’s middle in a half-hug as a smile came to his face, one threatening to fall at any moment, but one that was _genuine_ all the same.

“Akali… I cannot be sad forever as long as I have _you_ in my life.”

At first she had cheeped in surprise, but upon realizing what had happened she begun wriggling forward so that she could press her chin against folded arms upon his breastbone tentatively. Those sad eyes still shimmered but did not shed any tears at the sight of his smile… was there still hope? She felt her heart beat faster against his as anxiety swelled within the girl,

“I can keep making you happy then?” Came her soft response in a squeaky voice cracked by emotion.

“You always make me happy, and you’ve always made me happy. I am sorry it took me so long to say that.”

Akali unfolded her arms so that she could attempt to hug him, her reach not long enough on either side to actually hit the floor as the girl attempted to exert as much pressure as she could. Though the young ninja prided herself on being ‘strong’ and never showing a weak face to anyone, be it adult or child, she trusted Shen enough to know that the tears she was now shedding were out of happiness that he was still… him. That loss hadn’t stolen her favorite adult away in the night, and that there was still someone here that cared for her as much as she cared for them. Warm from the contact and with bright pink cheeks, Akali relished the feeling of his first arm joining the other as he hugged her tightly in response, a low hum sounding in his throat.

“Now, stop your crying… I am here for you.” He broke the hug just so he could press a thumb against the button of her nose softly, making her snort in surprise.

“P-Please don’t go anywhere… you’re my favorite person.” Akali’s sweet voice was rich in emotion, rubbing her cheek against his heart, “Let’s be happy together, okay?”

A beat of silence-- and then her small frame shook with his sudden laughter, the tone upbeat and unforced! Oh, how happy her sweetness made him...! In response, as natural as a retort, the young girl began to giggle infectiously as she brought a hand to her face to wipe away the tears that had once been there. It sounded… so _good_ to hear him laugh again that she couldn’t help snickering in delight!

In that moment, both Akali and Shen thought in unison about how _blessed_ they were to have the other in their life. He did not need her to understand how deeply the events of the past had wounded him, because they still lived in the present! She still _needed_ him...! They had lost and would continue to lose, yes, but they were still _alive_ and _loving_ in each others presence, and it would take the celestials above to change that! Souls thoroughly uplifted by each others company, the agitation and angst of the beginning of their encounter had long since melted away into absolute nothingness. 

“All right.” Shen spoke with renewed enthusiasm, “But do not tell the others you broke my meditation time… they will scold you.”

“But you're the master, just tell ‘em to stop telling me off.” She sniffled, playfully capturing her hand in his, locking their fingers together so that she could toy with his grip. “I don’t care about what they say, anyway. I… I only care about what _you_ say.”

“Hm… well, _as_ the master, I say you are naughty.” A faint smile overtook him as he retrieved his grip from her so that the man could sit back up; in response Akali clung to his front with her legs wrapped around his waist. So be it. As tears dried upon her cheeks the young ninja gave a yap in surprise when he fully stood up--

“I’m not naughty!! I’m good. Really good!” She warbled into the front of his shirt as that eyebrow of his that had been so reluctant to rise simply did so without thought.

“If you are so good, why are you currently clinging to your master in such a disrespectful way, Akali?” There was no anger there, no threat as his hand came against her skull now with the intent to shove her off! In immediate response the girl wiggled and tried to stay clinging,

“No! No! Let me be here!”

“So disrespectful, my star pupil…”

“You can’t get me off!! You can’t!”

Eventually Shen had taken both of his hands against her waist and had pulled too hard for her to manage, sheering himself of the little girl who had stuck to him like a barnacle to a rock. Meditation time was over it seemed, for she had decided in that split second of being upon the ground that his back was now free real estate and demanded to be mounted as well, and in a run about the singing rocks with Akali scuttling to keep up, Shen found himself smiling to himself as he waited for the young ninja to round a corner after him. It became a dance about the the rays of the fading sunlight, the conjoined sounds of their breathlessness rising happily into the air. 

"Catch me, then. I thought you faster than this."

"Why are you so big but so fast!!"

Kennen, standing in the shadow of the trees, raised a paw to scratch at his cheek as he watched the two run. The yordle had been there undetected for a fair few minutes, slitted pupils wide as joy began to rise within him at the sight.

“Ha...” He spoke under his breath, a fanged grin upon his face. "Welcome back, Shen.”


End file.
